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Yolanda Hadid Is Finally Feeling Healthy After 6 Years with Lyme Disease

After suffering the effects of Lyme disease for six years, Yolanda Hadid is finally feeling healthy again. The model and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alumna (not to mention mom to Gigi, Bella, and Anwar) posted a hopeful declaration to Instagram on Wednesday that should give hope to others with the chronic disease.

“After 6yrs Darkness has finally turned into Light and I am loving every minute of it, never taking a good day for granted…… #ChronicLyme #RoadToRemission #BackToWork #ThankYouGod,” Hadid wrote.

Hadid has spoken openly about her struggle with Lyme disease since she first contracted it in 2012, the same year she joined the cast of RHOBH. In 2015, she wrote a moving blog post on Bravotv.com revealing that she had relapsed significantly.

“I have lost the ability to read, write, or even watch TV, because I can’t process information or any stimulation for that matter,” she wrote. “It feels like someone came in and confiscated my brain and tied my hands behind my back to just watch and see life go by without me participating in it.”

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by ticks that is typically treatable with antibiotics. According to the CDC, most people recover after a few months. But a small percentage of people go on to develop chronic Lyme disease, also known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, particularly if the disease isn’t detected early enough and the bacteria has time to spread throughout the body. LymeDisease.org lists the symptoms of late-stage Lyme disease as including fatigue, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, sleep issues, cognitive issues, neuropathy, heart problems, and depression.

Hadid, whose children Bella and Anwar also contracted Lyme, has written a forthcoming memoir about her long fight for health. Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease, comes out in September, and the description of the book features a list of the many symptoms Hadid has had: “Severe debilitating fatigue, migraines, joint pain, anxiety, insomnia, Bell’s palsy, tremors, muscle weakness, severe brain fog, word retrieval difficulty, memory loss and intermittent loss of eyesight.”